Full List of Rapid Transit, Light Rail Transit Votes Since October 2006

The City Clerks' office has provided a list of every Committee and Council vote related to rapid transit and light rail transit (LRT) that City Councillors have taken since October 16, 2006, when the Public Works Committee voted to seek senior government funding for a bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

In April 2008, after the Province announced its intent to fund two light rail transit lines in Hamilton, Council changed the name of the Bus Rapid Transit Office to the Rapid Transit Office and initiated a Rapid Transit Feasibility Study to compare BRT and LRT on the east-west B-Line and north-south A-Line.

The final Feasibility Study report came back to Council in October 2008 and strongly recommended focusing on LRT. It drew the following conclusions:

The implementation of LRT has great potential to influence urban growth and revitalize a
city's central area.

LRT can strengthen existing neighbourhoods, rejuvenate declining areas and also attract new clusters of development around station sites, and has its strongest development potential in a city's downtown area, revitalizing downtown cores.

Appropriate land use policies are required to optimize the return on the investment for developments along the LRT corridor. The implementation of the LRT system is not just about a new transit system, but rather creating a synergy with the City as a whole.

LRT can also assist with increasing population and employment densities adjacent to the line and specifically in the vicinity of the LRT stations (reflective of the nodes and corridors land use planning concepts developed through GRIDS).

The effect of Light Rail Transit on land values can develop as soon as the decision to move forward with the implementation of a system is announced, before the system is actually built.

Planning of an LRT system should not be done in isolation. Planning policies, engineering principles, economic development and tourism must continue to be involved in the process.

Indirect benefits such as increased property taxes and direct benefits such as public-private partnerships or betterment taxes translate into revenues for the municipal sector. When this is coupled with provincial and federal investment in capital, light rail is a feasible transit option.

Light rail and its relationship with air quality and environmental sustainability can have a significant impact on health and lead to a reduction in health care spending and mitigation
of the effects of climate change.

Council agreed and authorized staff to begin work on engineering and detailed design for the B-Line LRT, preliminary design for the A-Line LRT, and a required Class Environmental Assessment, which the Province helped fund with a $3 million grant.

The rest would be history, except that all of a sudden Council seems to have forgotten why they supported LRT in the first place. This collection of all their LRT votes may help to jog a few memories.

1

Public Works, Infrastructure and Environment Committee Agenda for October 16, 2006

Council Minutes, May 11, 2016

Item 7.3 Reaffirming the Acceptance of the One Billion Dollar Investment in Infrastructure and Public Transit Investment from the Province of Ontario Recorded Vote

Ryan McGreal, the editor of Raise the Hammer, lives in Hamilton with his family and works as a programmer, writer and consultant. Ryan volunteers with Hamilton Light Rail, a citizen group dedicated to bringing light rail transit to Hamilton. Ryan writes a city affairs column in Hamilton Magazine, and several of his articles have been published in the Hamilton Spectator. He also maintains a personal website and has been known to post passing thoughts on Twitter @RyanMcGreal. Recently, he took the plunge and finally joined Facebook.

We need to start asking as Mayor Eisenberger did to see the emails and letters in opposition to LRT, through freedom of information act or whatever means. These councilors need to be held accountable if they are misrepresenting their constituents. Also, how many people would oppose LRT when given full information about the circumstances at present (e.g. Full provincial funding for LRT only take it or give to another city)?

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted May 19, 2016 at 11:00:30
in reply to Comment 118690

When I spoke to many stakeholder groups at the beginning of the LRT process when Council really was originally trying to decide whether to pursue LRT every single one eventually wrote a letter to Council supporting LRT (with majority Provincial funding) after hearing about the project.

These groups included BIAs, Neighbourhood Associations, service clubs (e.g. Rotary), business groups (Chamber of Commerce, Realtors, Homebuilders) and church groups in many different parts of the city. It was an extremely diverse group of people.

When the City did its consultation in 2009-2011 they found similarly high levels of support once the project and its goals were explained.

Much of the opposition is really concern from people who don't really know much about the project except that it is expensive, construction will be disruptive and they don't imagine themselves using it.

By Ralph (anonymous) | Posted May 19, 2016 at 11:42:04
in reply to Comment 118691

So how is it possible that councillors keep talking about representing an invisible majority of opposition to LRT? Is this not media worthy?!? What are our journalists in this city doing? Unless the opposition can be identified, the problem gives rise to suspicion of corruption and conspiracy theories.

Votes, votes, votes...they are more of a guideline really. I remember back in 1964, the Ti-Cats were 1st and Goal from the 4 yard line and all they had to do was punch it in to win the game. The great running back, Skippy Johnson, was ready to take the ball, when all of the sudden......what are we talking about again? LRT, right! Democracy is hard. Bocce for all!